1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a disk drive, and more particularly, to a disk drive adapted so that a head supported by a head carriage moves in a radial direction of a disk-type recording medium and reads and writes information when the disk is inserted in the disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
On electronic equipment, for example personal computers and word processors, a disk drive is provided as a means of recording information. In the case of a magnetic disk drive, when a disk cartridge which is the recording medium is loaded into the disk drive, a magnetic disk contained in the disk cartridge is rotated and at the same time the magnetic head slides across the magnetic disk, reading and writing information.
The magnetic disk drive as described above is provided with a recording medium loading device consisting of a disk holder into which the disk cartridge is inserted and a slider that slides from a cartridge insert/eject position to a cartridge load position when the disk cartridge is inserted. The recording medium loading device moves the disk holder from a recording medium unload position to a recording medium load position in tandem with the sliding of the slider.
Generally, in the conventional disk drive, pressing an eject button provided on a front edge of the slider moves the disk holder from the recording medium load position to the recording medium unload position, ejecting the disk cartridge.
The slider is urged in one direction by a coil spring or the like, so that when a disk cartridge is inserted a latch lever is pressed against an edge portion of the disk cartridge and rotates while at the same time a locking of the slider by the latch lever is released. As a result, the slider slides in the direction in which it is urged by the coil spring, moving the disk holder to the recording medium load position. At this time the disk holder drops from the recording medium unload position to the recording medium load position, chucking the disk inside the disk cartridge onto the turntable.
However, in an effort to increase the density of recording capacity by increasing the speed of rotation of the disk, the capacity of the magnetic disk itself has been greatly increased. The air currents generated by the high rotational speed of such so-called high-density disks exert a force upon the magnetic head, so with high-density magnetic disk drives the magnetic head actually floats slightly above the surface of the magnetic disk so as to avoid scratching the surface of the magnetic disk while reading information from and writing information to the magnetic disk.
Additionally, the use of a voice coil motor for the high-density magnetic disk drive in place of the lead screw used conventionally as means for driving the head carriage that supports the magnetic head has been studied. High-density magnetic disks require precise positioning of the magnetic head in order to function properly, and the advantage of using a voice coil motor to drive the head carriage that supports the magnetic head is that the voice coil motor can position the head carriage more precisely than the conventional lead screw can do.
However, since the voice coil motor drives the coil without actually contacting the coil, when no magnetic disk is loaded the head carriage can be moved by external shocks and vibrations such as those that typically occur during shipping and handling. If the head carriage moves it may hit the yoke and be damaged thereby. As a result, there is a need to lock the head carriage in place so that the head carriage does not move, in order to prevent the head carriage from being damaged during transit.
A lock member for locking the head carriage in place as described above, in which a solenoid is used to drive the lock member, is known. However, in that case the solenoid is placed in the vicinity of the lock mechanism and together the lock mechanism and the solenoid take up additional space, which hinders the desirable process of making the entire disk drive more compact.
Moreover, it is sometimes the case that a mechanism for holding the lock member for locking the head carriage in a lock position as described above is provided as a separate mechanism. However, doing so complicates the timing of the disk cartridge loading operation with respect to the head carriage locking operation. Specifically, if this timing is off, then the head carriage may remain unlocked even though a disk cartridge is not loaded, or conversely, the head carriage may be locked even though a disk cartridge is loaded. Neither of these two states is desirable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and useful disk drive in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are eliminated.
Another and more specific object of the present invention is to provide a disk drive in which the space required for mounting the lock member for locking the head carriage and the solenoid for driving the lock member is reduced.
The above-described objects of the present invention are achieved by a disk drive comprising:
a head for reading information from and writing information to a disk-like recording medium;
a head carriage supporting the head and moving in a direction of a radius of the disk-like recording medium;
a lock member locking the head carriage in place whenever the disk-like recording medium is not loaded in the disk drive;
and a solenoid for driving the lock member, the lock member comprising:
an arm part disposed so as to be aligned in a direction of movement of the head carriage, an engaging part that engages the head carriage and locks the head carriage in place being formed on the arm part; and
a pair of supporting parts extending from near both ends of the arm part and supporting the engaging part,
the solenoid disposed so as to be contained within a space bounded by the lock member arm part and pair of supporting parts.
According to the invention described above, the solenoid is positioned within the arms and supports of the lock member, thus using less space than if the solenoid and lock member were positioned at a distance from each other. As a result, the disk drive can be made more compact.
Additionally, the above-described objects of the present invention are also achieved by the disk drive as described above, wherein a rotational center of the lock member and a shaft driven by the solenoid are coaxially disposed.
According to the invention described above, the space required to accommodate the lock member and the solenoid can be further reduced.
Additionally, the above-described objects of the present invention are also achieved by the disk drive as described above, wherein the lock member comprises a quadrilateral frame comprising a pair of arm parts and a pair of supporting parts disposed at right angles to and connected with both ends of the pair of arm parts.
According to the invention described above, the solenoid can be positioned inside the space enclosed by the lock member, making more efficient use of the space inside the disk drive and making it possible to make the disk drive more compact.
Additionally, the above-described objects of the present invention are also achieved by the disk drive as described above, wherein the solenoid drives a lifter that contacts a head arm of the head carriage so as to bring the head close to the disk-like recording medium at the same time as the solenoid unlocks the head carriage from the lock member.
According to the invention described above, information can be read from and written to the disk-like recording medium.
Additionally, the above-described objects of the present invention are also achieved by a disk drive, comprising:
a recording medium transport mechanism for transporting a disk-like recording medium to a predetermined load position;
a head for reading information from and writing information to a disk-like recording medium;
a head carriage supporting the head and moving in a direction of a radius of the disk-like recording medium; and
a lock member locking the head carriage in place whenever the disk-like recording medium is not loaded in the disk drive,
a holding part holding the lock member in a lock position whenever the head is in an unloaded state being provided on the recording medium transport mechanism.
According to the invention described above, the lock member can both unlock the head carriage when the disk-like recording medium is transported and loaded by the recording medium transport mechanism as well as lock the head carriage securely in place when the disk-like recording medium is elected so that the head carriage cannot move.
Additionally, the above-described objects of the present invention are also achieved by the disk drive as described above, wherein the holding part is provided on a slider that slides in response to an insertion of a disk-like recording medium.
According to the invention described above, the holding part separates from the lock member as the disk-like recording medium is inserted into the disk drive, thereby causing the lock member to unlock the head carriage.
Additionally, the above-described objects of the present invention are also achieved by the disk drive as described above, wherein the lock member is disposed between the holding part formed on the slider and the head carriage.
According to the invention described above, the space required to accommodate the lock member can be reduced and at the same time the movement of the slider as the disk-like recording medium is inserted into the disk drive causes the lock member to unlock the head carriage.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.